November 28, 2022 Hey there! When was the last time you talked on the phone? I mean really… talked?  I’m not talking about the quick call you made for a doctor’s appointment or the call you hung up quickly when you realized it was a spam call. Now that everyone texts each other, we have abandoned the connection that comes with having a genuine voice-to-voice conversation on the phone. Imagine how revolutionary it would be then for someone to actually reach out to someone else on the phone – to seek connection with those around them in a way that is different from the way others are doing it. Today’s marketing idea is going to dive into the magic of a phone call. You ready? Let’s do it!  When you’re running a business, you function in task-achievement mode, wouldn’t you agree? That means that everything… from answering emails, to when you time your breaks, to how you arrange your desk… all of it is primed for optimized productivity. That includes your phone calls. Even when you make a call, you have a task on hand that you’re achieving through that conversation. While there is nothing inherently wrong about that, that does present a problem: You lose the relationship aspect of your business. Remember when you first started your business? How much of your why was for people? To help people? To connect with others? That gets lost along the way in the name of productivity. If you’re feeling the loss of relationship-focus in your business, it’s possible others are as well. When was the last time you sat down for coffee with someone without an agenda? When was the last time you replied back to an email and added a few pleasantries to it? When was the last time you called a client… just for the sake of calling them? Today’s marketing idea comes from the spirit of helping you bring relationships back into your business. What do you think would happen if you called your customers for no other reason than to wish them Happy Holidays? How would that change the relationships you have with them? As someone who has had to work at maintaining good relationships with my clients also, I can tell you firsthand what happened when I started calling for “no reason”… They stopped expecting me to sell them something every time we chatted. They started to see me as someone they could trust. They started to call me for “no reason” also. They eventually called me when they wanted to buy something. See what happened? Not only did the business owner and client become friends, but eventually the pursuer became the pursued. And that’s what I want for you. I want you to have a client base that knows and trusts you enough that they pursue you when they’re ready for your services. So your task this week: Pick up the phone. Call your customers and wish them happy holidays. Make it a habit to do that often and see how it changes the relationship.  Because we live in a texting and social media world, phone calls are becoming less and less frequent… which is one of the reasons why calling your customers will be so special and memorable to them. No matter when we last used the phone, we can all remember some of our most memorable phone calls… The good ones: The time you were offered your dream job. The time you found out your best friend was getting married. The time you were told your family would be visiting for the holidays. But also the bad ones: The time you received a diagnosis you were hoping would never happen The time you found out a loved one passed away Some of our most impactful moments have happened over the phone. Today’s content prompt is to post this on social media: “My most memorable phone call was when someone called to tell me _________________ .” Share about the best news you’ve ever received: “My most memorable phone call was when my real estate agent called to tell me we got our dream home.” Or you can be vulnerable and share one of the hardest phone calls: “My most memorable phone call was when my sister called me to tell me what happened to my mom…” Some of our most memorable calls have nothing to do with good or bad news: “My most memorable phone call was when my best friend called for no other reason than to find out how my new puppy was adjusting to our home.” Share about your most memorable phone call and then encourage others to share theirs in the comments. It may feel nostalgic to share about phone calls on social media, but nostalgia is where connections with others happen.  Xmas Influencer Marketing Campaign Ideas – Whether you’re an influencer yourself or not, you know how powerful their… influence can be. Have you harnessed the power of influencer marketing for your own business? Collaborating with someone to get your name out there could be your next big step this holiday season! Read More What will have the biggest impact on consumer holiday shopping? – Interested in knowing when, where, and how much people are spending their money this year? You can read all the stats here that you can consider as you plan your own holiday promotions. Read More Oscar Meyer gives away a lifetime supply of bacon for World Vegan Day – We’ve seen some strange marketing strategies out there, and this one is no exception. Find out what Oscar Meyer was doing and how they’re not the only business to lean into “ironic” marketing… and why you should consider trying it too. Read More Of all the marketing ideas and news that gets shared in the Your Marketing Newsletter, picking up the phone and calling people is by far one of my favorites and probably always will be. Why? Because hardly anyone does it anymore. Be different and be impactful.  Until next week… 🙂 Alex Branning Branning Group alex@branninggroup.com |